


Sand Dollar

by BubbaKnowlton



Series: Doctor and Lizard space dads [3]
Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Accidental kidnapping, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Kidfic, Underage Drinking, Ziyal gets a good & fun day out with her new friends like she deserves, loosely inspired by deep dish nine, young!Ziyal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-30 17:42:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15756606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BubbaKnowlton/pseuds/BubbaKnowlton
Summary: Assigned to do a book report with one of her classmates, one Elan Garak, Ziyal instead finds herself having a wonderful evening at the beach with him, his older brother, and his brother's friend. It's great to spend a few hours away from her father, but surprise at making a new friend makes her forget to tell him where she went, so it ends up being like a kidnapping.-Ziyal was struck with the realization that she had completely forgotten to text her father and Nerys to tell them that she would be with Elan and his brother. She’d been so surprised at Elan talking that she’d forgotten all about where her phone sat sadly at the bottom of her backpack.She wiped her sandy hands off on her damp shirt before taking her phone. Sure enough, it was her father calling. He was going to yell at her, she was sure.When she hesitated to answer, Liret asked, “What’s wrong?”“I forgot to tell my father I was coming with you. I was going to text him after I knew whether or not I could do my project with Elan, but I forgot.”“Guls, he doesn’t know you’re here?”“No...”





	Sand Dollar

**Author's Note:**

> ziyal deserved to be happy so i stayed up until 6:20 am to write this

**Sand Dollar**

Ziyal liked Mr. Garak, because he was kind to her and always made time to talk to her whenever he saw her. He was like a nice uncle, and although her father hated him for some reason, she enjoyed sitting with him and talking about art or books. Nerys didn’t like him much either, but didn’t discourage her from talking to him, as he shared her job in exposing her to her culture. Where Nerys taught her what it meant to be Bajoran, Mr. Garak taught her in depth about how to be a Cardassian.

He never called her paintings silly, and encouraged her to keep creating art. Although she was only in fourth grade, he’d say, she had a lot of potential, and was already quite talented. That always made her day, and she kept painting as often as she could, of all sorts of things.

Ziyal did not like Mr. Garak’s younger son, Elan. He was in her class, and would stare at her with cold, distant eyes. When he had spoken to her, his words were few and sharp, and he wouldn’t look directly at her. He didn’t care for her artwork, and didn’t like to talk to anyone at school. 

She’d tried to befriend him after he was first introduced to the class and asked to talk about himself and his family, but he’d ignored her. He’d stared at the floor and said in a rehearsed voice, “I’m Elan Garak. I’m from Cardassia, where I lived with my grandmother. My father owns the tailor shop in Mall Nine, and my stepfather is a doctor.” After that, she rarely heard him talk.

When their teacher assigned them as partners for a book report, she’d been nervous. Elan hadn’t said anything, but he’d looked down at his desk, frowning. They were to work on the project outside of school, which meant one of them would have to go to the other’s house. Ziyal was supposed to go with Nerys to the temple, but she had to call it off because of an issue with her friend Odo, so she decided not to call her father to come pick her up, and instead waited with Elan to see if either of his parents would let her come over. She’d text her father once she knew if she needed a ride or not, she told herself.

Instead of Mr. Garak or Dr. Bashir showing up to pick up Elan, a run down old van had pulled up in front of them, and Elan’s older brother rolled down the window. “Made a friend, Elan?”

“We have a project to do.”

“Alright. Get in. Father and Julian are going out tonight, so I thought I’d drive us somewhere, but you can bring her too, I guess.”

Ziyal wasn’t sure whether or not she liked Mr. Garak’s older son, Liret. He was an adult, so she’d only seen him when he came to pick up Elan once every week or so. He looked a lot friendlier than his brother, and hardly resembled him. Where Elan looked a lot like Mr. Garak, Liret took after whoever his other parent was. His prematurely grey hair didn’t help, either. 

She and Elan got into the back of the van. Liret adjusted his mirror so he could see them properly. “Buckle up.”

“Do we have a destination, today?” Elan asked, as soon as the vehicle started moving.

“Not particularly. I was thinking a beach, if we can find one. You two can work on your project. If you’re hungry, I’ve got a cooler with those packaged sandwiches in the back. Oh, Elan, I might pick up my friend, later. Is your friend okay with that?”

Elan turned his head towards Ziyal, but looked off to the side. “My brother has strange friends. Please say no.”

“Ah, ah, ah, little brother. Don’t be like that. It’s going to be Vrejek.”

“Father doesn’t like him.”

Liret scoffed. “Father doesn’t like him because he’s a half-breed.”

“You’re a half-breed.”

“Tsk, that’s a bad word, Elan. Vrejek is a very nice person, Elan’s friend. Hey- you’re a half-breed too, aren’t you?” She frowned, and he rushed to add, “Sorry, sorry, didn’t mean to upset you. I’m half Romulan, if you couldn’t tell by my name and the fact that I’m not a sickly pale like Elan. What are you?”

“My mother was Bajoran.”

“My friend is half Romulan, half Vulcan. We’re definitely picking him up. Elan, text him with my phone. It should be back there. Kid, make sure Elan doesn’t tell him something mean.”

She peered at the phone as Elan typed a message. He scowled as he typed ‘ _my brother is going to pick you up -Elan_ ’ and then sent it. Liret hummed, and Elan kicked his seat. He got a laugh in response.

“Kid, what’s your name?”

“Tora Ziyal.”

“Hm, sounds familiar... Oh! You’re the girl my father talks to about art! Dukat’s daughter.”

“You know my father?”

“Fortunately, no. Sorry, I shouldn’t say that. I’m sure your father is nice to you.” Her father often forgot about her, but she wouldn’t say that. “Well...”

“If you’re just going to blunder, you should keep your mouth shut, Liret.”

Ziyal couldn’t believe how rude Elan was to his brother. It was the most she’d ever heard him talk before. 

But Liret just laughed. “You’re right, little brother! I should. I get it from the Centurion.” A Romulan rank, she believed- his other parent? Ziyal wasn’t sure. “Start working on your project, or else you won’t be able to enjoy yourselves when we get to the beach.”

“Is there even a beach nearby?”

“I’ll check on Vrejek’s GPS. We’ll be at his place in forty-five minutes.”

“Fine.” Elan unzipped his backpack and pulled out his notebook. “Let’s get started, Ziyal.”

-

Elan wasn’t that bad to work with. He didn’t say very much, but they were able to get through most of the sheet work before the van rolled to a stop. The door opened almost immediately, and someone hopped inside.

“Vre!” Liret leaned over to hug his friend. “Got your GPS?”

“Always. It would be illogical to accompany you somewhere without one, lest we repeat what happened during our first year of friendship.”

“Ah, I’ll never live that down. You’re such a bitch.”

“So are you, my friend. Jolan-tru, Elan.”

“Hey.”

“Ah- you have brought another child.”

“That’s Ziyal. She and Elan are doing a school project. Hey, see if your GPS knows where we can find a beach.”

“If we are going to a beach, we’ll need swimming clothes.”

“Go get yours. I’ve got mine and Elan’s. Ziyal, I’ve got a spare pair of trunks for Elan, and an extra tee-shirt. Will you be fine with that if you want to swim?”

“Sure!” She’d never gone swimming before. It would be fun to walk around in the water, at least. “That’s alright with me.”

“Great! Once Vrejek has his shorts, we’ll head out.”

Vrejek returned to the van with a pair of swimming trunks in hand. He buckled in and turned on his GPS. He typed something on the tiny screen, and it said, “In two miles, turn right onto Derna Road.”

“Perfect! Let’s get going, children, the beach awaits.”

The van started up once more, and Liret started to talk to his friend in a language Ziyal couldn’t understand. Since the two of them were both half Romulan, she assumed that Rihan was what they were speaking. Elan tuned them out, and they returned to their project.

-

After an hour, they finished their book report. Elan unbuckled and reached into the back of the van, popping open the cooler. He rummaged through the ice, and pulled out two bagged sandwiches. He dropped one onto Ziyal’s lap, and one in the space between them, and returned to the cooler. After a minute, he called up to his brother, “You forgot to put water and soda in this again.”

“Guls, what’s in it?”

“Beer.”

“Hm... Is it high or low quality?”

“It looks like trash.”

“Split a can.”

“Liret!” Vrejek punched him in the arm. “They are children!”

“Elan has had kanar before!”

“Children, if you are thirsty, just put an ice cube in your mouth. Do not drink alcohol.”

“I can pick up some soda when we stop for gas...”

“Don’t bother.” Elan handed Ziyal an ice cube. She sucked on it, hating how cold it was, but thankful for the water. He sighed, and then sat back down, beer can in hand. After buckling, he cracked it open.

Vrejek spun in his seat, eyes wide. “Elan!”

“It’s just shitty beer, it can’t hurt us.”

“Miss Ziyal, I implore you, do not let these horrible brothers influence you.”

“It’s kind of fruity. Here, Ziyal, pretend it’s juice.” Elan handed her the can. She eyed it. The friendly looking apple on the front and small percentage of alcohol seemed inviting enough. She’d had a few sips of kanar and springwine before, which were relatively high in alcohol, this couldn’t hurt.

It wasn’t like she was going to drink the whole can. She was sharing. Her father and Kira would never find out.

She took a sip, and Vrejek huffed, turning back around. Before he could complain, the GPS gave another instruction. “Two more hours, kids!”

-

Elan grabbed a different can once they finished theirs, some energy drink with a much higher percentage of alcohol in it that Vrejek tried to snatch away from him, and Ziyal realized that he wasn’t quiet because he was mean or because he disliked her. He was quiet because he was nervous. A third of the way through the large can, he was much more talkative, and actually smiled.

“You’re a really good artist, Ziyal! I always liked your paintings.”

“Thank you!” She smiled, cheeks warm. He let her have a sip of the can, and it definitely tasted a lot stronger than the first, but was much more enjoyable. “This one is better than the beer.”

“Good old kanar energy. Guls, Father and Julian are going to kill me if they find out I let you drink that. Vrejek, I should have bought soda.”

“It is most gratifying to see you squirm with guilt, my dear friend. This is illegal.”

“That beach better be empty when we get there. I can’t get arrested again.”

Ziyal wondered why they were speaking in Standard again, but Elan asking her what her favorite thing to paint was distracted her from their conversation. The two adults slipped back into Rihan soon enough anyways.

Her discussion with Elan switched to a variety of things, and she could hardly keep track of it as the tall can emptied. Elan got them two more sandwiches, and dug out a slightly old apple, which Vrejek cut in half with a knife he kept in his coat. Liret had them pass up food to them, and Vrejek asked for a handful of ice cubes, which he shoved into Liret’s mouth. 

“I’ll take a beer, Elan,” Vrejek added as Liret sputtered, spitting the ice cubes onto his lap.

Elan giggled as he told a story, “-and then Julian asked Father if he’d learned how to hack computers from the Obsidian Order, but Father told him to stop indulging in his fantasy. Julian gave up on it for the day, even though he was right!”

“Everyone knows Mr. Garak was a spy!”

“Julian still isn’t sure half the time. He’s so funny, I’m glad Father found a ridiculous man like him to marry-”

Finally, as the sun started to go down, and Liret’s clock displayed that it was almost seven, the GPS interrupted Elanas he detailed yet another embarrassing story about his stepfather, and announced, “You have arrived at your destination.”

“We’re here, kids!”

“Wow!” It was getting dim outside, but it still looked beautiful. “I’ve never been to a beach before, Elan. I’m excited!”

“It’s really your first time at a beach, Ziyal?” Liret asked, parking the van right up by the sand. “We’ll make sure you enjoy it, dear. Alright- I’ve got my shorts on already. Elan, yours and Ziyal’s are in the back. I’m going to get in the water.” He pulled off his shirt and got out of the van.

Elan climbed into the trunk, and passed Ziyal a shirt and shorts. He ducked down to change, and went out through the back. Vrejek changed in the front, and walked after Liret.

Ziyal hopped out once she had changed. Thankfully, the clothes were her size. She left her shoes in the van. Sneakers wouldn’t be good on sand. While there was a cool breeze, the sand was still warm from a day of soaking up the sun.

“Let’s go in the water before it cools off, Ziyal!” Elan grabbed her wrist and pulled her along. They ran down to the water. Liret was already in it, sitting down in the shallows. He lifted up a pile of seaweed and tossed it at his brother. Elan dodged it, and scooped up some of his own. Liret couldn’t dodge fast enough, a small wave almost toppling him as he tried to move, and ended up with faceful of it.

“Agh!” Vrejek laughed, and Liret growled. “Come here, you-!” He hurled a wad at his friend, and got him in the chest.

Smiling wide, Elan started walking towards some rocks, feet splashing in the water. “There’s probably crabs over here!” Once they were over by the rocks, which were covered in hundreds of small snails, Elan whispered, “My brother gets really annoying when he’s with Vrejek.”

“Are they dating?”

“I don’t know. You know how weird Cardassians are about dating. Romulans are weird too, and Vre’s part Vulcan, and they’re extra weird about it.”

“Oh. I don’t really know a lot about Cardassian dating. My father flirts with everyone, pretty much.”

“That’s what Julian said. Hey- there’s a crab!” Elan grabbed at it, but it scuttled down into a crevice. “Aw. I missed it.”

“Don’t they pinch?”

“I guess. But it was little, I don’t think it would have hurt. Let’s find some more!” 

They trotted around the rocks until Ziyal managed to scoop up a baby crab. She held it up proudly. It tried to pinch her, but was too small to cause any pain. Elan poked at it, giggling. They put it back, and Elan pried off a couple of the snails. He stuck one on Ziyal’s cheek, and they both sat down in the water, laughing helplessly. 

With waves lightly pushing against them, they sat there until their giggling subsided. Elan pulled the snail off of her face and put it back on the rock. “There you go, little one.”

It stuck back onto its home, and the two of the waded out into deeper water. Once it was up to their waists, they stopped. “Can you swim, Ziyal?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Liret taught me how to swim a long time ago, when we lived with our grandmother.” He lowered himself down until the water lapped at his shoulders. “If it wasn’t getting dark, I would teach you!”

“I think there’s a public pool near where Miss Dax lives...”

“Public pools are lame! You’ve got to learn in the ocean! Or a river or lake. Or a pond. That’s what Liret told me.”

“Would he take us out here during the day?”

“I’ll ask him tomorrow. Maybe he can take us on the weekend. Father and Julian are going to a concert on Saturday.”

“My father works Saturday, and I don’t have to go to Temple with Nerys...”

“Good!” She was so glad Elan was her friend now. All it took was a long car ride, a trip to the beach, and some weird drinks to get him to open up and realize she wasn’t someone to be nervous around. She’d remember to ask Nerys if that was a good way to make friends, or if she should let it be a one time thing.

They walked around in the water for a while, Elan swimming back and forth every so often. The sun continued to drop, turning the sky into beautiful hues of red, orange, and pink. She tried to commit it to memory so she could paint it. It began to fade to black.

Liret and Vrejek had gotten out of the water and were talking on the beach. Vrejek had another beer can in his hand, and was waving it around as he said something that made Liret laugh.

“I think I found a sand dollar!” Elan ducked under the water to get it. He popped back up a moment later, holding a small, grey sand dollar. “Here! To com- commen- to commemorate your first time at the beach!” He tucked it into her shirt pocket.

“Thank you! I love it!”

He beamed. Then he put his hands on her shoulders. “Have you ever dunked your head under the water?”

“No.”

“Try it! Close your eyes and hold your breath! I’ll pull you right back up, trust me!”

Mr. Garak’s repeated warnings to her to trust no one and her father’s own warnings rang in her head, but she was too excited by the idea of trying something new that she ignored it. Elan wouldn’t do anything to hurt her, he was a nice person.

He didn’t let her drown, but the saltwater stung her eyes when she opened them and water dripped down her face, and she couldn’t see. “My eyes hurt...”

“Oh! Sorry! Ah- I don’t have anything to wipe it with. Come on, let’s go find a towel and play in the sand-”

Liret wiped her face dry with his arms and smoothed back her hair to keep it from dripping instead of letting Elan guide her to the van. Once her eyes stopped stinging, she and Elan settled down on the wet sand, and began making little mounds. It was too dark to go back in the water, and it was beginning to get too difficult to see what they were making, the moon a small sliver in the sky, the stars not providing enough light.

They made one big mound and covered it with rocks and seaweed before Liret called out, “Ziyal! Your phone is ringing!”

Ziyal was struck with the realization that she had completely forgotten to text her father and Nerys to tell them that she would be with Elan and his brother. She’d been so surprised at Elan talking that she’d forgotten all about where her phone sat sadly at the bottom of her backpack.

She wiped her sandy hands off on her damp shirt before taking her phone. Sure enough, it was her father calling. He was going to yell at her, she was sure.

When she hesitated to answer, Liret asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I forgot to tell my father I was coming with you. I was going to text him after I knew whether or not I could do my project with Elan, but I forgot.”

“Guls, he doesn’t know you’re here?”

“No...”

“Ziyal! It’s almost ten! I picked you two up at three! That’s seven hours! Oh, fuck, _fuck-_ ”

Vrejek looked equally ashamed. “Liret, this is kidnapping.”

“I know, guls, I know. I kidnapped a child, I kidnapped my brother’s friend. Fuck, I should have asked if she had permission- guls, I don’t know why I assumed her father knew-”

“Answer it, Ziyal!” Elan urged. “Tell him you forgot to text him! He’ll understand, right?”

The call ended. Her notifications showed a truly ungodly amount of missed calls from both her father and Nerys, starting around nine.

Vrejek took the phone and called her father back, hit speaker, and then handed it to her. Almost as soon as it was in her hand, her father answered. “ _Ziyal?!_ ”

“Hello, Father.”

“ _Where are you? Are you alright?_ ” 

“I’m fine! I’m-” She had no idea what beach they were at. “Um, I’m at...”

Liret looked ready to die. Vrejek shrugged. Elan added, not very helpfully, “We’re somewhere!”

“Elan!” Liret cried.

“What? It’s true. You’re the ones with the GPS, didn’t it say where we are?”

“ _Ziyal, who is that?_ ”

“Um, my friend Elan, from... from my class.”

“Kid, could you sound any more nervous?” Liret groaned. “That’s it, I’m finished. This whole idea was ridiculous. I can’t bring two little brats out to have fun. Oh, fuck me-”

Elan leaned in to the phone, “Hi there! I’m Elan Garak! Ziyal, I’m really tired, it’s really dark and cold, and I want to go home.”

“Elements, you three, you’re really making this sound like a kidnapping.”

She could hear her father sputtering on the other end of the line. Liret sent a mortified look at his friend, and snatched the phone away. “Mr. Dukat, I am so, _so_ sorry!”

“ _Who the hell are you? Why do you have my daughter?_ ”

“I’m Liret Garak, Elan’s older brother. I really didn’t mean to kidnap your daughter, sir, I thought she had your permission. You see, when I went to pick up my little brother from school today, she was standing with him, and they said they had to do a project. I thought I’d be a cool older brother and bring them somewhere fun after they finished their project, but Ziyal forgot to text you.”

“Doesn’t he hate your father, Liret? The thought just occured to me.”

“Shut! Up! Ugh, Vre’, just get the kids ready to go. There’s towels in the back, I don’t want sand and water all over my seats.” He gestured widely in the direction of the van. “Mr. Dukat, I will drive Ziyal home immediately. It, uh... It’ll take about four hours, but we’ll leave right now.”

Vrejek nudged the two of them back to the van. Ziyal could hear her father demanding to know where they were that it would take four hours just to get her home, and Liret desperately replying that he really had no idea, just that they were at some beach, and had a GPS to get back.

They dried off and changed back into their clothes, and Liret slumped in the driver’s seat, handing Ziyal her phone back. “I’m going to be arrested.”

“Really?”

“I don’t know! Maybe? Guls, he thought she was with some woman named Kira at a Bajoran temple, but those things close at seven.”

Liret’s phone rang, and he picked it up. “Hey, Father-”

“ _You kidnapped Ziyal?_ ”

“Guls, I’m the criminal for taking Elan and his pretty little friend out to have fun!” He hung up, huffing. 

Vrejek passed the GPS back to Ziyal. “Put your address in this.” She input it, and gave it back. “Huh. Four hours and five minutes.”

“I am going to be murdered by a sweet little girl’s father, just because I try to be a nice person. Father was right, you should never do anything nice for anyone that isn’t family!”

“Ziyal, put your number in my phone.” Elan pulled a worn out phone from his backpack. “We’re friends now, so we should text each other. I’ll send you a picture of myself so you know what number is me.”

“I could cry, Vre’, I really could. At least Elan made a friend. I guess that makes it worth it, huh?”

“Not really.”

-

“ _Ziyal!_ ” Her father scooped her up and hugged her tightly as soon as she hopped out of the car. It was just past two in the morning, and she was too tired to talk or do anything but wrap her arms around his neck and tuck her head against him. The energy drink had worn off, and she’d slept a bit in the car, only just waking up when Elan shook her and said they were pulling in the driveway.

Elan set her backpack on the ground, careful not to drop it so her phone and sand dollar would be okay.

“Bye, Ziyal! I’ll bring our book report to school tomorrow!”

“Hey, Liret, let’s just leave. Elan, shut the door.” Elan pulled the door shut with a loud slam, and Ziyal could hear the van backing up. She heard a, “Sorry, Mr. Dukat!” from Vrejek, and they were off.

“Hey!”

Her father growled as the van presumably vanished down the road. Then he sighed, and kissed her temple. He adjusted his hold on her so he could crouch down and grab her backpack. Finally, they went inside. Ziyal yawned.

They sat down on the couch, and her father made her straighten up so he could look at her. Seeing that she was free of injury, he relaxed a bit. “Are you alright?”

“Mhmm... Just tired.” She didn’t think she’d ever stayed up so late before.

“You smell like the ocean. You should take a shower before you go to bed.”

She did feel like she was covered in salt, and there was probably still sand on her, so she nodded. As she grabbed her pajamas and went to shower and brush her teeth, she overheard her father talking on the phone. Too tired to make out what he was saying, she assumed he was probably calling Nerys to tell her she was home, safe and sound.

She felt even more exhausted when she was clean, and wandered out of the bathroom, ready to go to bed. Her father picked her up as she walked down the hall, and took her with him back to the living room. She feel asleep on top of him, head tucked against his neck, a hand petting her hair.

**Author's Note:**

> Dukat didn't notice Ziyal was missing until 9 pm he's Truly a great father  
> Follow/talk to me on Tumblr: @Oblio-k


End file.
